Nike Oregon Project

Sir Mo Farah is leaving American coach Alberto Salazar and will be trained for his marathon career by Paula Radcliffe’s husband, Ulsterman Gary Lough.

Farah is to relocate from Portland in the United States to London but has denied his decision has been influenced by doping allegations against Salazar.

Salazar has always strenuously denied being involved in doping, and Farah has consistently stood by him by resisting the calls to quit the coach’s Nike Oregon Project.

The four-time Olympic gold medallist insists he is coming home to London because he and his family missed living in the city where his eldest daughter Rhianna was born.

The British athlete said: “I’m moving back home. London… I really miss home. I’m going to be back there. I’m very excited.

“I’ll no longer be coached by Alberto Salazar, working with the Oregon Project. I want to thank each member of the Oregon Project, and Alberto for what he’s done over the years.

“So I’m coming back and my new coach is going to be Gary Lough, who coached Paula Radcliffe through her marathon. I’m very excited to start a new project, a new start.”

Larne native Lough helped guide Radcliffe’s career, in which the British athlete became established as the world’s best women’s marathon runner and won a host of big-city races, including London and New York.

Speaking in a video on Twitter, Farah added: “I can’t wait to be back home and can’t wait to see my team Arsenal at the Emirates.”

Farah won Olympic gold in the 5,000m and 10,000m at the London Olympics in 2012 and again four years later in Rio.

The 34-year-old Somali-born runner insisted: “I’m not leaving the Nike Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar because of the doping allegations.”

Farah stressed he would have quit the partnership with Salazar if allegations against the coach had been shown to be true.

Farah added: “I’m a firm believer in clean sport and I strongly believe that anyone who breaks the rules should be punished.

“If Alberto had crossed the line I would be out the door but USADA (the US Anti-Doping Agency) has not charged him with anything.

“If I ever had any reason to doubt Alberto, I would not have stood by him all this time.

“I’m leaving simply because my family and I are moving back to London. We all loved spending our summer here and (Farah’s wife) Tania and I realised how much we missed spending time with our friends and family – and the kids are happy here, too.

“We want the kids to grow up in the UK. It’s the right thing for my family. But both the Nike Oregon Project and Alberto are in the USA, it would not be possible to continue our relationship.”

Farah last competed in London in the World Athletics Championships in August and will take to the capital’s streets next April in the London Marathon.

Lough factfile

Gary Lough is 47-years-old and is married to superstar long-distance athlete Paula Radcliffe.

The pair met when they were sharing the same accommodation at Loughborough University.

Lough, who hails from Larne, is the Northern Ireland record holder over 1,500m with a time of three minutes, 34.76 seconds which he ran in Monaco in 1995 when he was 25-years-old.

That August, the former Annadale athlete finished ninth in the WorldChampionships in a time of 3.37.59.

Lough, who won several NI titles, was Radcliffe’s head coach for a large part of her glittering career.

British distance running star Sir Mo Farah has split from controversial coach Alberto Salazar and announced he will return to London to work with Gary Lough, the husband and coach of women’s marathon world record holder Paula Radcliffe.

The four-time Olympic champion, however, has denied that the move has anything to do with the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) investigation into his former coach and the Nike Oregon Project (NOP) that he leads.
Sir Mo announced his departure from track racing after winning 10,000 metres gold medal and 5,000m silver at this year’s International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in London and will now focus on the marathon distance.

He plans to run next year’s Virgin London Marathon on April 22.

“I’m not leaving the Nike Oregon Project and Alberto Salazar because of the doping allegations,” the 34-year-old told The Sun.

“I’m leaving simply because my family and I are moving back to London.

“We want the kids to grow up in the UK.

“My decision to move back has nothing to do with UK Athletics, I’ve let them know of my change in coach but they don’t have a role in deciding who that is.

“I chose to work with Gary [Lough] over others because I’ve known him for a very long time – since I was 16 – and we get on well.”

An interim USADA report, compiled in March last year and hacked by Russian group Fancy Bears before being released in its entirety by the US athletics site FloTrack.com, claimed that “it appears highly likely” that anti-doping rules on the infusion of legal supplements – in this case L-carnitine – were broken in the case of Galen Rupp, another Salazar charge and a training partner of Sir Mo.

The same charge is levelled at other past or present NOP athletes Dathan Ritzenhein, Tara Erdmann, Lindsay Allen, Alvina Begay and Dawn Grunnagle.

Salazar, a former world record holder for the marathon, has repeatedly asserted that his athletes “have nothing to hide and are hiding nothing”.

Sir Mo has repeatedly insisted that he has “never broken the rules in regards to substances, methods or dosages” and that he will stand by Salazar until firm evidence appears.

“This situation has been going on for over two years,” Sir Mo told The Sun today.

“If I was going to leave because of that I would have done.

“As I’ve always said, I’m a firm believer in clean sport and I strongly believe that anyone who breaks the rules should be punished.

“If I had ever had any reason to doubt Alberto, I would not have stood by him all this time.”

Lough, a former British international 1500 m runner, married Radcliffe in 2001 and played a key role coaching the 2005 world champion to what remains the fastest ever women’s time of 2 hours 15min 25sec in 2003.

He lives in Monte Carlo, though, so it is not clear how close a role he will play in Sir Mo’s training.

Lough is expected to join him on an altitude training camp in Ethiopia early next year.

Senior figures in British athletics asked Mo Farah to split with controversial coach Alberto Salazar before the World Athletics Championships in London, only for the four-time Olympic champion to refuse.

Concerned by the negative impact Farah’s continued association could have when the American remains the subject of a United States Anti-Doping investigation, a prominent figure in the sport was asked by UK Athletics to meet Farah and raise the issue after he competed in Ostrava on June 27.

Farah instantly dismissed the possibility of dropping the man who masterminded his amazing transformation from also-ran to arguably the finest distance-runner of all time after also clinching six world titles.

Salazar has always maintained his innocence, but Sportsmail can reveal that the American’s position as a distance-running consultant for UKA was secretly terminated in September 2015.

In the build-up to London 2017 there appeared to be a carefully orchestrated campaign to put distance between Farah and Salazar, with reports of a probable separation after the championships amid claims that his involvement with the Briton had been limited for some time.

That, however, was not the case. Asked on Wednesday if Salazar remains Farah’s coach, his representatives told this newspaper: ‘Alberto is still Mo’s coach.’

Clearly a compromise was reached for the World Championships, with Salazar staying away from London to prevent the situation with USADA from over-shadowing Farah’s last major event on the track and his farewell to British fans. Instead, as this newspaper revealed, Salazar sent his son.

UK Athletics had been nervous about their own association with Salazar since doping allegations about the Nike Oregon Project, where Farah trains, surfaced in a joint BBC Panorama-ProPublica report in June 2015.

Following an investigation into the Panorama claims by the Performance Oversight Group, UKA issued a carefully worded statement in September 2015.

‘In July we said that there was no evidence of any impropriety on the part of Mo Farah and no reason to lack confidence in his training programme,’ it said. ‘The Oversight Group have restated that view. They have also found no reason to be concerned about the engagement of other British athletes and coaches with the Oregon Project.’

But the UKA board took the immediate decision to end Salazar’s wider association with British distance-runners, limiting him to working with just Farah.

It meant Salazar still had a contract with UKA. But he was informed that his position as a distance-running consultant, technically unpaid as his salary was paid by UKA sponsors Nike, would not exist while the USADA investigation was ongoing.

When a USADA report on the Oregon Project was leaked by Russian hackers earlier this year, the situation once again became uncomfortable for UKA.

On Wednesday one source claimed that there was a desire to see Farah part company with Salazar before he runs in April’s Virgin London Marathon. Indeed, it was said there had been a power struggle between Marathon boss Dave Bedford and Farah prior to Farah committing to the race.

But the talk that took place in Ostrava, Sportsmail understands, was initiated by the governing body. That led to further erosion in the relationship between Farah and UKA. As we revealed in August, Farah refused to work with head of endurance Barry Fudge in the build-up to London. Fudge worked with Salazar for years.

According to one source on Wednesday, the root of the split was Farah’s frustration with Fudge for devoting more of his time to younger runners such as Andrew Butchart and Laura Muir.

UKA are looking at their future funding plans. If they decide to remove Farah from their list of funded athletes, at least they would sever links with Salazar.

Alberto Salazar, chief coach at the Nike Oregon Project (NOP), has denied reading all of the leaked US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) report into activities there following his athlete Galen Rupp winning the Chicago Marathon yesterday.

Rupp produced a superb tactical performance to break clear and become the first American winner of the World Marathon Majors Series event since 2002.

He crossed first in a time of 2 hours 9min 20sec.

The interim USADA report, compiled in March last year and hacked by Russian group Fancy Bears before being released in its entirety by the US athletics site FloTrack.com, states that “it appears highly likely” that anti-doping rules on the infusion of legal supplements – in this case L-carnitine – were broken in the case of Rupp.

The same charge is levelled at other past or present NOP athletes Dathan Ritzenhein, Tara Erdmann, Lindsay Allen, Alvina Begay and Dawn Grunnagle.

Galen Rupp wins the 2017 Chicago Marathon

Salazar has repeatedly asserted that his athletes – who also include Britain’s double world and Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion Sir Mo Farah and Chicago third placed women’s finisher Jordan Hasay – “have nothing to hide and are hiding nothing”.

He did not attend August’s World Championships in London, where Farah won gold and silver, but was present on the finishing line in Chicago.

“I haven’t read it [the report],” the coach told the Let’s Run website following Rupp’s victory.

“I’ve read parts of it, I’ve been asked about it but, as I’ve said before, I know that we followed all the rules, we asked what all the rules were and I know that we haven’t broken any rules.

“And I’ve just gotta leave it there.”

Salazar was then asked why USADA concluded it was “highly likely” that rules has been broken.

“You know what? I’m not going to get into that,” he responded.

“You would have to ask them what it is that they saw that they think that.

“Today is about the race here, I’ll just leave it at that.”

A statement provided by Salazar in May strongly denied any wrongdoing and claimed “conjecture regarding the L-carnitine injections is simply wrong”, before adding that “evidence has been submitted to USADA disproving their unsupported assumptions”.

Rupp’s victory was considered one of the greatest results in the history of American marathon running.

Some, though, referred implicitly to the ongoing investigation while watching the race.

New Zealand’s two-time Olympic 1,500m medallist Nick Willis tweeted: “I’ve often considered pursuing a career in race commentary, but it’s hard to fathom having to omit relevant info to the audience #FBI #WADA.”

American distance runner Stephanie Bruce posted: “I’m sorry it’s not just his arm carriage that is leading to this”, after a commentator suggested why Rupp had improved.

She later added in response to criticism of this post: “I just feel it’s important to discuss that the Oregon Project is and has been under a @usantidoping investigation for the past two years.”

Mo Farah could have received guidance and support from Alberto Salazar’s son during the World Athletics Championships, with Sportsmail able to reveal that Alex Salazar was in London as a member of the American team’s coaching staff.

As one senior British Athletics figure revealed before the Championships, Alberto Salazar took the decision to stay away from London to protect Farah’s reputation when the four-time Olympic champion was going to be the focus of so much attention. Salazar, after all, remains at the centre of a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation.

A conscious effort has certainly been made to put some distance between Farah and Salazar, with the 34-year-old, his PR spin doctors and even British Athletics officials playing down the importance of an American who actually transformed him from an also-ran into the most successful distance runner in history.

On Sunday Farah was evasive when asked if he planned to remain with Salazar when he retires from the track at the end of this season and moves up to the marathon.

He did, however, claim that Salazar’s involvement has been limited for the last ‘three or four years’ despite the fact that he continues to compete under the Nike Oregon Project banner and still lives with his family in Portland.

He also publicly stood by him two years ago when doping allegations first emerged as a result of a joint investigation by the BBC and ProPublica.

It has now emerged, however, that Salazar’s son was in London for the duration of the Championships, with his attention extending beyond the Nike Oregon Project athletes representing the US.

On Sunday he was seen at the warm-up track assisting Sifan Hassan, the Dutch distance runner who took the bronze medal in the 5000m ahead of Great Britain’s Laura Muir. She is an NOP athlete.

It is unclear as to how much time, if any, Alex Salazar devoted to Farah – he has been receiving day-to-day support from a junior British Athletics coach after a fall-out with head of endurance Barry Fudge – but coaches from other nations were stunned to see Alex Salazar there when he too is a prominent figure in the American anti-doping inquiry.

More than 20 former Nike Oregon Project athletes, coaches and staff have given evidence to USADA and one former coach, Steve Magness, revealed how Alex Salazar was used in a highly controversial experiment to see how much testosterone gel could be used before triggering a positive drugs test.

In an open letter to respond to the allegations two years ago, Salazar even admitted to using Alex and his brother Tony as scientific guinea pigs in July 2009 with a product called Androgel.

Salazar, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing, claimed it was a ‘sabotage test’ amid fears that a physiotherapist accused by Justin Gatlin of rubbing testosterone gel into him – and causing him to fail a drugs test for the second time in his career – had come into contact with Farah’s training partner, Galen Rupp.

Magness dismissed the explanation as ‘ludicrous’ and a leaked USADA interim report raisea a number of concerns when using a banned substance on support staff could yet lead to sanctions.

Salazar claimed the testosterone gel experiments were organised by Houston endocrinologist Dr Jeffrey Brown, with USADA stating in their report to the Texas Medical Board that neither Alex or Tony Salazar ‘had a prescription for testosterone’. The report also said the second of the two experiments was actually conducted on the Nike Campus in Oregon.

In an interview with USADA in February 2016 Salazar said the testosterone used in the experiments came from his own prescription for the substance, with Salazar personally applying it to his sons. Salazar also told USADA that the testosterone had been prescribed by Dr Brown.

However, USADA highlighted the fact that in the open letter published by Salazar in June 2015, when he attacked the credibility Magness and his claims, he had stated that ‘he was under the care of Portland physician Kristina Harp for hypogonadism and that Salazar was prescribed testosterone gel by Dr Harp’.

In a report that also contained evidence that Salazar’s athletes have been prescribed medication they had no medical need for, Farah among them, the USADA report identified other concerns. It stated that ‘Salazar acknowledged that his sons certainly were not informed of any risks of the administration of testosterone without a medical need for the substance’.

British Athletics legend Mo Farah has criticised the media with the degree of attention given to his relationship with his coach Alberto Salazar and claims some critics are “trying to destroy” his legacy.

The four-time Olympic champion hit out having been asked about Salazar after winning 5,000 metres silver at the World Championships in London on Saturday.

Salazar is being investigated by the US Anti-Doping Agency and did not attend the World Championships.

Farah joined Salazar’s Nike Oregon Project in 2011 and the pair have enjoyed huge success together, with the British star winning four Olympic gold medals and six world titles – including his 10,000m crown last week.

Their success has not come without scrutiny and Farah – who will retire from the track at the end of the month to focus on road racing – feels it is unfair.

He said: “It’s like a broken record, repeating myself, if I’ve crossed the line, if Alberto’s crossed the lines…why bring it up year after year, making it into headlines? I’ve achieved what I have achieved – you’re trying to destroy it.

“You have to educate the right people to say what’s fair. So many times, you guys have been unfair to me. I know that. But say it how it is.

“I want you to write the truth about what’s out there and educate people out there. But be honest with them.

Farah also dismissed any significance over Salazar’s absence and is still unsure over if the pair will continue together when he switches to the road.

He said: “I haven’t thought that far ahead. I’ve a few races left, and then I’ll take a nice break. And see how it goes.

“How many races has he been to this year for me or last year? He hasn’t been to any races. For the last three or four years I have been pretty much by myself and it didn’t make much difference really – I knew what I needed to do.”

The 34 year-old is set to focus on his final appearance on track at the 5,000m diamond League Meeting in Zurich on 24th August and after that then he switches to road races.